Lasting mechanism



C. F. PYM. LASTING MECHANISM. APPLICATION men MAYZI. 1918.

P atentedApr. 25,1922- stares serene CHARLES E. PYM, or rrnivyraassacnosnrrs, assrenon T nnrrnnsrronmaorrrn- Em; conronarron, or PATERSQN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION on NEW annsnv.

Q I I LASTING rancnanrsivnarsen.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd Apr '25 T922 7 Original application filed December 11, 1913, Serial No. 306,128. Divided and tnis'applim iQ i d May T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, C Annns F PYM, a subject'of the King'of Great Britain, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Lasting Mechanisms,

of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. v

This invention relates to lasting mechanism,- in particular, to gripper mechanism for pulling shoe materials over lasts or other forms in the making of shoes.', and is a division of thesubject-niatter ofmy copending application for Letters Patent for improvements in lasting machines, Serial No. 806,126, filed Dec. 11,, 1913 upon which automatic machines, particularly, a quick.

opening and closing movement with provision for'wide stock receiving spacing is desirable and this can most efiiciently be secured by a construction requiring comparatively slight movement of the jaw ,actuating means. 7 I

Thls invention provides a novel construct1on and arrangement of gripper mechanism designed to accelerate relative closing and opening movements of the gripper jaws in order to permit the jaws .to present a wide stock receiving opening without the necessity for an undesirable extent of movement of the operating means inopening the jaws or in closing them on the work. In the construction shown this object is attained "by the use of connecting links extending across from one jaw to the other and arranged in non-parallel relation to produce an angular divergencebetween the jaws in opening. In

said stem on the frame 156.

Serial No. 23 5,820.

the illustrative construction of the jaws, the

relative closing and opening movements, un-

der the control of the links, areeflected by operating means which moves ina direction substantially parallel to the direction of pull j A further feature of the invention consiste in a. novel construction of gripper V mechanism in which the gripper jaws are 7 closed yleldlngly on the upper and the gripper is operated pos tively to pull the upper.

In the construction shown the pulling' novement of the gripper is effected by means which operates independently of the mean whereby the jaws are closed, the latter means maintaining the jaws yieldingly in closed position during the pull.

These n th 'teatu s and v n age will be more fully apparent by reterence to h following d ta led sp ifi a on and {to the, accompanying 7 drawing, illustrating .one embodiment or" the invention.

in this drawing,

in open position with, the margin of the upper stock of a supportedsh e inserted within the gripper jaws, and

, Fig. 2 is a view with the jaws closed' l ld pulling thestook over the end of the last.

'The relatively stationary or fixed jaw of the gripping mechanism is in the former a downwardly and forwardly curving lip 149 formed at the lower end of a head 148. hollowed or recessed above said lip to form a housing to receive the shank portion of the movable aw and the operating mechanism and having its upper end prowided 1* 1g. 1 is a view of the gripper mechanism with a cylindrical xshank150 extending through and slidable in {a bore formed in the end of a supporting frame or carrier 156. A collar 157 acljustafbly fixed by .a setscrew to the upper end of the stem 1-50 retains The movable jaw v 1,51 is mounted in the recessed portion of the head 148 means of a -short link 152 pivotally connecting the upper end of the jaw shank to the walls of the head and by alever pivoted between its ends within the recessed portion of the head. and having its outer arm 153 pivotally connected to the movable aw at a point intermediate of its ends and nearer the extremity of said jaw than the pivot point of the lever is to the extremity of the fixed jaw, this arm 153 and link 152 being arranged in divergent or non-parallel relation and constituting non-parallel links of unequal lengths connecting the movable j aw and the stationary jaw and diverging substantially in the direction in which the jaws point, both the nonparallel arrangement and the inequality of length of the links serving to increase the reaching out action or the'angular divergence of the movable jaw from the other jaw in opening as well as to accelerate the opening and closing movements. The relative arrangement of these links 152, 153 is such that the movable aw 151 is guided for a longitudinal movement relatively to the stationary jaw 1 19 characterized by coincident swinging of the movable jaw toward and from the stationary jaw in a path which is approximately at right angles to the plane of the co-operating gripping face of the stationary aw, the grlpplng face of the movable jaw in the last stages of its closing movement assuming a substantially parallel relation to the gripping face of the stationary jaw. In open position the jaws present an upper receiving opening of relatively large area which converges inwardly of the jaws. The lever which is pivotally mounted within the recessed portion of the head 1 18 with its forward end connected to the movable jaw 151 extends rearwardly therefrom and is formed with an enlarged rear end having an elongated opening therein receiving a roller 15 1 carried by and offset from the lower end of an operating rod or slide 155 which is guided within the head. 148 and freely movable through a bore in the supporting frame 156. This rod extends to a point above the frame 156 and has its upper endthreaded to receive a flanged threaded sleeve 1'70 which is encircled by a coiled spring 168. The upper end of the spring abuts against the flanged end. of the sleeve 170 and its lower end abuts against a washer 169 seated over an opening in the forward end of an operating arm 158 which, together with the frame 156, is journaledrat 159 on a suitably supported spindle and is operated by suitable means such as a cam 166 acting against a roll on. the extended end of thearm to pull the closing rod 155 and impart movement to the jaw 151 to clamp the upper materials. between it and the relatively stationary jaw 149, and then by further movement to increase the closing pressure of the jaws on the upper. This arrangement permits a relativel strong gripping force to be transmitted to the movable jaw, the spring 168 preventing excessive closing pressure from being transmitted from the arm 158.

. After the jaws have been closed on the upper as above described, the frame 156 is swung upwardly about its pivot 159 by the action of a cam 162 similar to the cam 166, and by engagement with the collar 157 lifts the gripper jaws bodily and unyieldingly to pull the upper while the jaws are held yieldingly closed by the action of the spring 168. During this upper pulling movement of the gripper the last is held against movement in the direction of the pull by means of. a shoe rest 124. As the upward movement of the gripper continues, further operative movement may be imparted to the arm 158 in order to insure that the tension of the spring 168 shall remain effective to hold the jaws in secure gripping engagement with the stock.

Having described my inventionywhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In mechanism of the class described, relatively movable gripper jaws, and a pair of divergent link members connecting said jaws for relative closing and opening movements inv approximately straight line paths which are in approximately right angular relation to the planes of the co-operating gripping faces of said jaws.

2. In mechanism of the class described, relatively movable gripper jaws, and a pair of link members arranged in divergent relation and connecting said aws for relative closing and opening movements, one link member being connected to said jaws at points nearer their gripping extremities than the other members and at different distances from said extremities.

3. In mechanism of th'e classdescribed,

tion and each pivotally interconnecting said jaws and arranged to position said jaws, in open relation with their co-operating grip ping faces presenting an inwardly converging stock receiving opening and relatively to move said jaws for closing in a pathapproximately in right angular relation to the co-operating gripping faces of said jaws.

4. In mechanism for pulling an upper over its last, a movable gripper aw, a relatively stationary gripper jaw, divergent link members pivotally connecting said jaws for closing and opening. movements of the movable jaw in a path approximately at right angles to the co-operating gripping face of the stationary jaw, and means for first yieldingly closingsaid j awsand then for bodily retracting them to pull'the gripped upper.

5. In mechanism of the class described, a movable gripper jaw, a relatively stationary gripper jaw, divergent link members pivjaw, one of said link members being con heeted to themovablejawzat a point intermediate of its ends and forming one arm of a jawelosinglever, and closing means cooperating with the other arm or said lever to move said jaw toward'and from gripping position. i

6. In a pulling-over mechanism, shoe holding means, a bodily retractible gripper having opening and closing jaws, and two nonparallel links each extending across from one jaw to the other, whereby relative longitudinall movementof one jaw is accompanied by a swinging apart thereof from the other jaw;

1. In a pulling-overmechanism,shoe holding means, a bodily retractible gripper having opening and closing jaws, non-parallel links connecting said jaws,'whereby relative longitudinal movement of the jaws is accompanied by relative swinging movement to close or open the jaws, and means for moving one jaw to close the gripper, said means including a yielding resistance medium arranged to cause the gripper closing opera tion to be effected yieldingly.

8. In mechanism for pulling an upper over its last, relatively movable gripper jaws connected for opening and closing relative movements, jaw closing means movable to close the gripper yieldingly, and gripper operating means arranged for positive gripper retracting movement.

9. In mechanism for pulling an upper over its last, a stationary gripper jaw, a movable gripper aw, a pair of non-parallel links connecting said jaws for opening and closing relative movements, an operating member connected to said movable jaw and arranged to close the gripper yieldingly, and a second operating member arranged for positive movement to retract the gripper.

10. In mechanism of the character ,described, the combination with carrying means for pincers, of pincers comprising a hollow head portion formed with a depending fixed jaw, a movable jaw having a portion extending within the hollowed portion of the head, a pair of nonparallel link members connecting said fixed and movable jaws for opening and closing movements, one of said link members being extended from the fixed jaw and forminga lever, a rod connected'to the extended end of the lever and extending upwardly beyond said carrying means, and operating means connected to said rod.

11. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with carrying means for pincers, of pincers comprising a hollow head portion formed with a fixed jaw, a movable {having a portion extending into the hollow head, a link within the hollow head connecting the end of the movable jaw with the walls ofsaidhead, a lever pivotedintermediate "its ends within the 'hol l'owhe'ad with one end pivotallyattached'- to the movable jaw, anupwardly ex-. tending rod guided within the head and connect'e'd at its lowe'r end to the opposite end.

of said lever,me'.ans'onthehead'ior'attach I ment-to the carryingnie'ans, an operatin-g lever having an; opening therein through which the rod extends, an adj ustable nuton the upperend of the j rod, and a spring sleevedon the rod between the nut an'd the operating lever. f

. 1-2. In' mechanism of the character describech'the combination oi? ahead havinga recess therein and providedlwith a lower gripping jaw .cur-ved downwardlyla n'el torwardly from the lower end-thereof, a cooperating j aw, a jaw closing lever fulcrumed on the head within the recess and to the front end of which the last named jaw is pivoted between its ends, an operating slide for the lever, and a jaw motion controlling link pivotally connecting the upper end of said last named jaw to the head.

13. In mechanism for pulling an upper over its last, a gripper comprising a fixed jaw, a movable jaw, links connecting the jaws which are divergent in the direction in which the jaws point to increase the reach ing out movement of the movable jaw, and

over its last, a gripper comprising a fixed jaw, a movable jaw, links of unequal lengths connecting the jaws, the outer link being the shorter to increase the reaching out movement of the movable jaw, and operating means for the jaws.

15. In mechanism of the class described, a pair of gripper jaws, a pair of connecting links extending across from one jaw to the other and arranged in non-parallel relation to cause an angular divergence between the jaws in opening, and means movable in directions substantially parallel to, the direc tion of pull of the gripper to impart relative closing and opening movements to the jaws under the control of said links.

16. In mechanism of the class a pair of gripper jaws, a pair of connecting links extending across from one jaw to the other to permit relative movement between described, I

the jaws, one of said links being longer than c other at diiierent respective distances from the gripping faces of the jaws, said links being arranged in non-parallel relation and the link Which is the nearer to the gripping faces being longer than the other link, and meansfor effecting relative closing and opening movements of the jaws under the control of said links. I

18. In mechanism of the class described, "relatively movable gripper jaws, means movable substantially in the direction of the .pull of the gripper for closing said jaws yieldingly on the Work, and additionalmeans movable in substantially the same direction for imparting upper pulling movement to said jaws.

19. In mechanism of the class described,

relatively movable gripper jaws, means for closing said jaws yieldingly on the work, and means for moving said jaws positively to pull the upper while they are held yieldingly closed by said firstenamed means.

20. In mechanism of the class described, a gripper comprising a fixed jaw member, a

movable jaw member, a pivotal link con- 4 her and at unequal distances from said points of connection of the link. I I

21. In mechanism of the class described, a gripper comprising a fixed jaw member, a movable jaw member, a pivotal link con necting the movable member to the fiXed member, and a second link positively connecting said members and constructed and arranged relatively to said members and the first named link to cause the gripping faces of the jaws to diverge when open and to extend in substantially parallel relation to each other in the last stages of closing move ment of the movable aw member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. f

CHARLES F. PYM. 

